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Parents and Guardians Forum>Which Daycare Would You Choose?
Unregistered 08:45 AM 03-13-2016
I'm torn between 2 in home day cares. I am currently looking for care since my current in home daycare is closing in July. Will have a newborn girl and almost 2 year old boy. Let me know your opinion and what you would choose. Only would need 7-4pm hours covered.

Option A: Daycare is down the street 2 blocks away. Has been doing daycare for 1 1/2 years. Has 2 kids, 1 is 4 and the other is 2 1/2. Average 8 kids of all ages (mostly girls). Licensed elementary teacher and special education. Hours 7-5:30pm with 2 weeks vacation (1wk paid, 1 wk unpaid) and 10 paid holiday days. $175 per week per kid.

Option B: Daycare is 4 miles in the opposite direction of work (10 minutes one way). Has been doing daycare for 20 years. She teaches daycare provider classes part time. Has 4 grown kids that are out of the house. Average 8 kids (mostly 2 and 3 year olds with one 1 year old) + a couple extra kindergartners in the summer (mostly boys). Hours 7-4:30pm with 4 weeks off (2 weeks paid vacation, 2 weeks unpaid) and 10 paid holidays + snow days that the school district takes avg 3 days. $160 per week per child.

Thoughts:
Option A's provider is younger so may have more energy. More girls, so may be a bit tamer environment. My son tends to be more mellow. Great that it's down the street and I can walk when the weathers nice to pick him up. Worried about daycare burnout or if she decides she doesn't want to do daycare once her 2 1/2 year old gets to preschool or kindergarten.

Option B's provider is older so more experience with juggling kids. More boys which is great for my son to follow after and learn from (as long as they are well behaved). Longer commute. Worried that she will want to retire soon but not sure, I would guess her age is in the low 50s. She seemed more excited about having an infant in her care and seemed more confident with her daily plans. She has a lot of time off, so not too worried about her getting burned out, but may prove to be somewhat cumbersome in finding backup care. Have somewhat good backup care, but will probably need to cover most days myself.

Any input is much appreciated. Thank you!
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Thriftylady 10:44 AM 03-13-2016
Well first off, don't consider price so much. It really doesn't play a part. I have seen a lot of parents go with cheap care (Legal to be unlicensed here and I am, but many SAHM's do it dirt cheap). SOME (not all) cheap providers are not doing much with the kids at all and are parking them in front of the TV. SOME expensive providers do the same thing!

Secondly do they both offer plenty of free play? It is important! Many parents want more preschool, but studies show less "school" and more play is better. Children do learn through play.

Did you take your child to the interviews? How did the child and provider interact? Did one seem to connect with your child better than another? How did you connect with each provider? Does one have policies you can more live with than another?

As far as burn out, that can happen to anyone. In most cases, a back up is on the parent. Having a substitute is hard! A sub must meet licensing standards, we may have to pay for their classes to do so, and many times pay them more per hour than we make after expenses! All that being said, choose one that does take some time off. Does either have a trial period? That way if something doesn't work out you can leave without owing two weeks notice? Sure we don't like to think something won't work out and we will have to change so soon, but things happen. Perhaps the child doesn't fit in well with the rest of the group, or even perhaps the child and provider don't mesh well. That's nobody's fault but it sometimes happens.

ETA: Choose a program with outside play! I think it is very important to get outside, and the kids LOVE it!
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Unregistered 07:13 AM 03-14-2016
Thanks Thrifylady for your input. We hadn't really given outdoor play too much thought, but I realized we should. Especially because both my husband and I are so disappointed that kids in schools these days don't get enough of outdoor play. We ended up going with Option B. She seemed like she gave the kids more outdoor play and also gave them a chance to work out large motor skills when weather kept them inside. She also seemed more confident overall with being able to handle several kids of various ages. We won't be starting for a month with my 2 year old, but she brought up bringing him on days here and there for a couple of hours to get him used to the other kids and also offers a 3 week trial period as well where either the parents or her could opt out if it wasn't a good fit. Overall I think the fact that she was excited about having both the baby and our 2 year old was what won us over. She seemed genuine when interacting with our 2 year old and we could tell she was excited to have a new baby girl as well. The 4 week time off will be a challenge, but we've already asked around with family and our previous daycare lady and we are confident that we will be able to get backup care if either of us can't stay home. This is one of the most stressful and nerve wracking decisions parents make these days, so it definitely helps to get other opinions.
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Leigh 07:33 AM 03-14-2016
Originally Posted by Unregistered:
I'm torn between 2 in home day cares. I am currently looking for care since my current in home daycare is closing in July. Will have a newborn girl and almost 2 year old boy. Let me know your opinion and what you would choose. Only would need 7-4pm hours covered.

Option A: Daycare is down the street 2 blocks away. Has been doing daycare for 1 1/2 years. Has 2 kids, 1 is 4 and the other is 2 1/2. Average 8 kids of all ages (mostly girls). Licensed elementary teacher and special education. Hours 7-5:30pm with 2 weeks vacation (1wk paid, 1 wk unpaid) and 10 paid holiday days. $175 per week per kid.

Option B: Daycare is 4 miles in the opposite direction of work (10 minutes one way). Has been doing daycare for 20 years. She teaches daycare provider classes part time. Has 4 grown kids that are out of the house. Average 8 kids (mostly 2 and 3 year olds with one 1 year old) + a couple extra kindergartners in the summer (mostly boys). Hours 7-4:30pm with 4 weeks off (2 weeks paid vacation, 2 weeks unpaid) and 10 paid holidays + snow days that the school district takes avg 3 days. $160 per week per child.

Thoughts:
Option A's provider is younger so may have more energy. More girls, so may be a bit tamer environment. My son tends to be more mellow. Great that it's down the street and I can walk when the weathers nice to pick him up. Worried about daycare burnout or if she decides she doesn't want to do daycare once her 2 1/2 year old gets to preschool or kindergarten.

Option B's provider is older so more experience with juggling kids. More boys which is great for my son to follow after and learn from (as long as they are well behaved). Longer commute. Worried that she will want to retire soon but not sure, I would guess her age is in the low 50s. She seemed more excited about having an infant in her care and seemed more confident with her daily plans. She has a lot of time off, so not too worried about her getting burned out, but may prove to be somewhat cumbersome in finding backup care. Have somewhat good backup care, but will probably need to cover most days myself.

Any input is much appreciated. Thank you!
Who do you LIKE the most? Who do you feel you can have a good relationship with?
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NightOwl 07:43 AM 03-14-2016
Originally Posted by Unregistered:
Thanks Thrifylady for your input. We hadn't really given outdoor play too much thought, but I realized we should. Especially because both my husband and I are so disappointed that kids in schools these days don't get enough of outdoor play. We ended up going with Option B. She seemed like she gave the kids more outdoor play and also gave them a chance to work out large motor skills when weather kept them inside. She also seemed more confident overall with being able to handle several kids of various ages. We won't be starting for a month with my 2 year old, but she brought up bringing him on days here and there for a couple of hours to get him used to the other kids and also offers a 3 week trial period as well where either the parents or her could opt out if it wasn't a good fit. Overall I think the fact that she was excited about having both the baby and our 2 year old was what won us over. She seemed genuine when interacting with our 2 year old and we could tell she was excited to have a new baby girl as well. The 4 week time off will be a challenge, but we've already asked around with family and our previous daycare lady and we are confident that we will be able to get backup care if either of us can't stay home. This is one of the most stressful and nerve wracking decisions parents make these days, so it definitely helps to get other opinions.
Good choice. I agree with all that thrifty said. Play is vitally important, outdoor time is too (hopefully she has an engaging playground area), and your "gut feeling" is rarely wrong. Her interaction with your kids says a lot.

Not that the young provider is any less than the one you chose, she may be awesome. But it's a matter of who fits your family best.
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